Corporate social responsibility and multinational enterprise identity: insights from a mining company's attempt to localise in Ghana

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates how a US gold mining multinational enterprise (MNE) – one of the world's largest – operates its subsidiaries in various parts of the world by creating a unique ‘glocal identity’. The US parent company has experienced several significant challenges across its network of subsidiaries. These challenges were mostly linked to the enforcement of the MNE's identity and culture in its host environment. We contribute by describing, in detail, the attempts made by this company to localise its corporate social responsibility practices in Ghana as it sought to gain legitimacy and create an identity that would overcome the issues relating to the liability of foreignness. Our data come from a combination of sources, including questionnaires and detailed semi-structured interviews conducted with the key management employees of the mining company, members and opinion leaders of the company's host communities, and secondary sources. Our main finding is that the construction of a ‘host-friendly’ identity was centred around the mining company's involvement with the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation.     

Comparing Survival Times for Treatments with Those for a Control Under Proportional Hazards

Inferences for survival curves based on right censored data are studied for situations in which it is believed that the treatments have survival times at least as large as the control or at least as small as the control. Testing homogeneity with the appropriate order restricted alternative and testing the order restriction as the null hypothesis are considered. Under a proportional hazards model, the ordering on the survival curves corresponds to an ordering on the regression coefficients. Approximate likelihood methods, which are obtained by applying order restricted procedures to the estimates of the regression coefficients, and ordered analogues to the log rank test, which are based on the score statistics, are considered. Mau's (1988) test, which does not require proportional hazards, is extended to this ordering on the survival curves. Using Monte Carlo techniques, the type I error rates are found to be close to the nominal level and the powers of these tests are compared. Other order restrictions on the survival curves are discussed briefly.     

Bayesian Estimation for Poisson-exponential Model under Progressive Type-II Censoring Data with Binomial Removal and Its Application to Ovarian Cancer Data

In this article, we propose Maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) and Bayes estimators of parameters of Poisson-exponential distribution (PED) under General entropy loss function (GELF) and Squared error loss function (SELF) for Progressive type-II censored data with binomial removals (PT-II CBRs). The MLEs and corresponding Bayes estimators are compared in terms of their risks based on simulated samples from PED. The proposed methodology is illustrated on a real dataset of ovarian cancer.     

Risk management in plant investment decisions: risk typology,dimensions and process

Abstract

Managing risk associated with plant location decisions is a growing concern as companies seek to reassure investors about the robustness of their strategies. However, little attention has been paid to the systematic evaluation of risk associated with new plants. This paper investigates risk management practices in plant investment decisions through detailed case investigations in a cross section of industrial businesses at different levels of maturity in order to observe current practices, identify common principles and to synthesis systematic approaches to risk management. It identifies key risk categories and dimensions of risk management, building on three key bodies of literature – global manufacturing, investment and risk management     

The Social Development Summit and the developing countries

This article discusses some concerns of the 1996 UN Summit on Social Development. Conference organizers identified the three key conference issues as poverty alleviation, social integration of the marginalized and disadvantaged, and expansion of productive employment. The goal of a "society for all" means dealing with the increasing differences between rich and poor countries, the survival of weaker economies in a competitive market system, wide variations in consumption patterns between countries, attainment of political stability while respecting ethnic identity, the rise in social problems among countries with a high human development index, and increasing joblessness. The Human Development Report for 1994 emphasizes human security. Social development is not the equivalent of human resource development nor a side issue of economic growth. The integration of ethnic groups poses social and political problems. There remains a question about what political system and culture would be best for social integration. Developed countries define poverty as the inability of people and government to provide resources and necessary services for people's productive activity. Poverty in developing countries is blamed on colonialism. Globally, developed countries control 71% of world trade. Sharing resources to meet basic needs throughout the world is not an operational ideal. The highest 20% of income earners receive 83% of the world income. The culture of poverty is the strategy used by the poor to survive. Welfare is not an end in itself but does enable the poor to improve their conditions. Development that focuses on productive employment is uncertain. Developed and developing countries do not share similar perceptions of human rights. There is a question as to who should set the priorities for social development. Sustainable social development is related to preservation of natural resources, control of population growth, and promotion of social security.     

Brief interviews: approaches, techniques, and effectiveness

A study of brief-contact interviews at a psychiatric hospital by social workers indicated that such interviews can reduce long client waiting lists and increase case loads without adding to cost. Their effectiveness requires skill and judgment by highly-trained and experienced workers.     

Hartley-Ross Type Estimators for Population Mean Using Known Parameters of Auxiliary Variate

This article proposes Hartley-Ross type unbiased estimators of finite population mean using information on known parameters of auxiliary variate when the study variate and auxiliary variate are positively correlated. The variances of the proposed unbiased estimators are obtained. It has been shown that the proposed estimators are more efficient than the simple mean estimator, usual ratio estimator and estimators proposed by Sisodia and Dwivedi (1981 Sisodia , B. V. S. , Dwivedi , V. K. ( 1981 ). A modified ratio estimator using coefficient of variation of auxiliary variable . J. Indian Soc. Agricultural Statist. 33 ( 1 ): 13 – 18 . [Google Scholar]), Kadilar and Cingi (2006 Kadilar , C. , Cingi , H. ( 2006 ). A new ratio estimator using correlation coefficient . Int. Statist. 1 – 11 . [Google Scholar]), and Kadilar et al. (2007 Kadilar , C. , Candan , M. , Cingi , H. ( 2007 ). Ratio estimators using robust regression . Hacet. J. Math. Statist. 36 ( 2 ): 181 – 188 .[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) under certain realistic conditions. Empirical studies are also carried out to demonstrate the merits of the proposed unbiased estimators over other estimators considered in this article.     

Bayesian Survival Analysis of Head and Neck Cancer Data Using Lognormal Model

The paper considers a lognormal model for the survival times and obtains a Bayes solution by means of Gibbs sampler algorithm when the priors for the parameters are vague. The formulation given in the paper is mainly focused for censored data problems though it is equally well applicable for complete data scenarios as well. For the purpose of numerical illustration, we considered two real data sets on head and neck cancer patients when they have been treated using either radiotherapy or chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. The paper not only compares the survival functions for the two therapies assuming a lognormal model but also provides a model compatibility study based on predictive simulation results so that the choice of lognormal model can be justified for the two data sets. The ease of our analysis as compared to an earlier approach is certainly an advantage.     

Unraveling the enigma of Indira Gandhi’s rise in Indian politics: a woman leader’s quest for political legitimacy

This article employs Bourdieu??s notion of symbolic capital to explain how Indira Gandhi gained legitimacy in Indian politics. It reveals that, in spite of having belonged to the politically illustrious Nehru family, Gandhi suffered numerous indignities as a minister in the immediate post-Nehruvian period because the incumbent political elite at the time, the Syndicate, devalued the symbolic value of her family-name-based-capital of mass popularity. In the meantime, changes in the clientelistic relations between the landed and landless caste groups had created conditions for the failure of the Syndicate??s claim that their capital of popularity among politicians was the symbolic capital of the Indian political field. Aware of social changes taking place in the countryside, Gandhi took advantage of her access to the symbolic power of the state offices to classify the landless caste groups as garib (poor) in order to defeat the Syndicate electorally. Having established her capital of popularity among the masses as the symbolic capital of the Indian political field, she cemented its status by using her control over ruling party leaders?? access to state offices and simultaneously creating a new classification of a competent leader in the ruling party. This study contributes to the existing studies of leadership, especially leadership by women, and the legitimacy-gaining process by revealing the role of contest among the elite over the meaning of symbolic capital in creating or destroying their respective authority.     

Inclusive Water Governance: a Global Necessity. Lessons from India

Efficient water management has emerged as a critical challenge of environmental protection and human security in the twenty-first century. Lack of water management affects the hydrological cycle of the earth, leading to a major influence on the livelihood of the people. This paper reviews the enhanced role of IWRM in water management. It discusses the functioning of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as a global approach to overcome the challenge(s) regarding the efficient management of water. Further, the paper argues for ‘inclusive water governance’ developed at the local level as against IWRM developed at the global level. The paper emphasizes on the approach of inclusive water governance as a practical solution to address the water management crisis in India, in particular, and developing countries, in general. Inclusive water governance is sensitive to equitable access to water, as a human right, and also to sustainability of water, as an important resource.